CTU candidates claim just 9 of 21 spots on Chicago Public Schools board
Jessica Biggs defeated CTU-backed Hilario Dominguez for president of the board.
Candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union did not win a majority on Chicago’s first fully elected school board.
CTU-endorsed Hilario Dominguez lost the race for board president to Jessica Biggs. Other candidates endorsed by the union appear to have won nine of the other 20 seats.
CTU and aligned groups spent at least $2.4 million on candidates, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Elections, but voters appear to have rejected CTU’s agenda at the ballot box.
Here are the 2026 Chicago school board election results:
For too long, CTU and its political agenda have gotten in the way of doing what is best for students and their families. The 2026 board election seems to have provided an opportunity for voters to hit reset.
What powers does the elected Chicago school board have?
According to the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education, the board’s responsibilities include but aren’t limited to:
- Hiring and evaluating the CEO
- Establishing the district’s direction, goals and priorities
- Approving the district budget and capital improvement plan
- Approving district policies
- Approving purchasing decisions, contracts and intergovernmental agreements
- Approving the school year calendar
- Approving school continuous improvement plans, school actions and school charters and contracts
- Approving the dismissal of probationary appointed teachers, contract principals and tenured teachers and non-probationary educational support personnel
The Chicago Policy Center has developed a CPS Excellence Agenda for new members, based on three pillars: 1) Academic excellence, 2) financial excellence and 3) board excellence.
New members should start with the question that matters most: Are students learning?